Rating: 
Summary: A classic
Review: It is a little disappointing that the excellent Oxford History of the United States is progressing so slowly, with only four of a projected ten or so volumes published as yet. Not one of these books is less than superb, and this one fits in well in the series.As indicated on the cover, this book is the volume that covers the Civil War era. McPherson, however, does not start with Fort Sumter. Instead, he spends around a quarter of the book looking at the events that led to the war; only after an in-depth review of items such as the Great Compromise of 1850 and the Dred Scott decision does the book get into the actual war. McPherson is pretty objective in his writing. He may lean a little towards the North, but I believe that has much to do with the distastefulness of the South's principal cause, the protection of slavery as an institution. And if there is a hero in McPherson's history, it must be Lincoln, whose strong leadership - as well as his gifted use of language - guided the North to victory and led to the downfall of slavery. Had he not been assassinated, the Reconstruction Era (not covered in this book) may have been quite different. There have been thousands of books written on the Civil War; some are comprehensive while some cover a single battle or individual. I have read only a few, but I agree with the consensus opinion: this is the best single volume work on this period. But I could state that about any volume in this series, which is why I look forward to the next one coming out, whenever that might be.
Rating:
Summary: Civil War Buffs: Read This Book First
Review: I saw a newspaper article where 10 Civil War scholars were asked to list the best books on the Civil War. 'Battle Cry of Freedom' was one of the only books to show up on multiple lists. I researched the book further, and found out it won the Pulitzer. How could I go wrong with this book? I bought it, and started reading it. It was exactly what I was looking for. It wasn't as tedious and solely military oriented as some of the other Civil War books I had started in the past and never finished. Finishing the book a while later, after reading 2-4 chapters a night, I realized even more what a great read it was. This book covers economical, political, military, and social aspects of the war. For anyone wanting to study the Civil War, read this book first. It is a well-researched, perfect introduction to the subject. I wish a book like this existed for every major historical event - it would make life as an armchair historian much more pleasant.
Rating: 
Summary: competent, general survey
Review: Read the title carefully. This is a book about the "Civil War era." The War itself doesn't start until about page 300. I can't honestly say that I read every word of McPherson's description of the events leading up to the war. Perhaps some day I'll get more interested in the events leading up to the War and go back to McPherson. For readers who aren't very familiar with the Civil War, this is probably as good a book as you will find. For those of us who have read a bit about the Civil War there is nothing new, different, or outstanding about this book. Thus, I would recommend it wholeheartedly to the beginner but question whether it is worth the time of the Civil War buff to read. If you want to read about the War itself, Shelby Foote or Bruce Catton -- or the Shaara's, father and son, are the authors to look for.
Rating:
Summary: Complete
Review: This is a very thorough, if not complete history of the American Civil War. A certain item to be owned by Civil War buffs. A sueperb refernce guide and general history, of a great epsiode in America's fascinating history.
Rating:
Summary: You Too Can be a Buff
Review: This book is colossal, in size and scope, in depth and breadth, in text and tincture. James McPherson touches on all aspects of the Civil War all within 862 pages. I know what you maybe thinking to yourself..."This isn't a casual read," or maybe, "History can be pretty dry especially 862 pages worth." Ease your foreboding thoughts though; McPherson's "Battle Cry of Freedom" keeps you engaged with interesting detail, personalities, and cause and effect without ever becoming bogged down. It's just good writing anyway you look at it. Once upon a time I developed quite an appetite for all things Civil War. McPherson whetted that appetite in one book. To learn as much would have taken a small library. If you read this along with Michael Shaara's Killer Angels, you too will be well on your way to Civil War buff-dom-ship. Good read.
Rating:
Summary: The best one volume civil war book ever!!!
Review: Simply put this is the best civil war book ever written. This book is for the casual historian like myself who doesn't want to be bogged down with Tom Clanceyesque like details of every single battle. Equally important to Mr. McPherson are the political and social aspects to the civil war as well as the military. If you want to get a feel for the flavor of this book I highly recommend finding a comfortable spot in your favorite bookstore and just reading the last chapter. It will astound you. This book has completely changed my way of thinking about the single most significant event in American history to date.
Rating:
Summary: Just a great book
Review: I liked this book so much. I can't remember any other 1000 page book that I read twice in the same year. This is history as it should always be written, McPherson proves how the style of writing can be as important as the content. As most reviewers already said this book actually flows like a thriller, but doesn't do so without sacrificing accuracy or even inventing dialogue. It stands as an example of excellence not only in historical research but also in writing.
Ok... I hope I transmitted the idea that the book is GREAT because now I will comment on the very small things that annoyed me about it. For example I made the mistake of buying the paperback version, and it just isn't worth it. The paperback edition almost self-destructs in the process of reading the book, the covers become very worn and bent, some pages came loose, etc... so do yourself a favor and buy the hardcover edition. I actually did so after a while and it has none of the problems of the paperback edition (I don't really think those problems are a result of sloppiness by the publisher, only that a 1000 page book on paperback will be quite fragile by nature).
I also hope that one day they will add more maps to the book, it has a few maps of the major battles but I guess a large and more illustrated version of this book would be nice (this version does has some pictures and they are quite interesting in putting a face in some of the important people of the Civil War, people you might have never seen. I only wished for more).
As I said these are VERY minor negative things with Battle Cry of Freedom, the book is great in covering the years that led the Union to the Civil War and the war itself.
Rating:
Summary: The best of the Civil War
Review: If you don't have enough money to buy Shelby Foote's more conprehensive three part narrative, then this is the single volume history of the Civil War for you. It ranges from pre-war sectionalism and tensions and the Mexican-American War through the Civil War and into that grand mistkae Reconstruction in such sweeping and epic and elgant manner. His writing is wonderful, borering on literary as much as it is historical and infomrative. The exhaustive research and painstaking recounting of the battles is essential to understandn America's grea6test conflict. The maps are excellent in description and clarity. The photos are great, the smae ones everyone else uses too, but why does everyone use them? They use them because they're great, that's why. This is the essential one volume history of the Americna Civil War. I gice it my highest recommendation.
Rating:
Summary: ONE OF THE BEST CONCISE HISTORIES EVER WRITTEN
Review: The present becomes history in the blink of an eye. Many people still think of "history" as something that by definition happened a long time ago; remote, dusty and boring. But history, real history, is everything that has gone into shaping "now" - that infinitesimally short span of time, that temporal singularity in which our consciousness resides. In that sense, the American Civil War could be considered the purest chunk of history in the world:- Firstly, because of its radical impact on the shape of the world today. The Declaration of Independence and the ensuing Revolutionary War did more to change the global political map, but it can be argued that nothing, not the end of Atlantic colonialism, not even the two World Wars, did more to change the world's social and economic order. It was the Civil War that ultimately forged the USA into a nation rather than simply a union, that made aristocracy and serfdom obsolete (one day the rest of the world will catch up), that forced the pace of industrialisation to the point where mass production became the norm, and that in consequence of all this left America as a global superpower in waiting (waiting in fact only for WW1 fifty years later to make it formal). Secondly, because it was history almost before it was over. This is no joke. It was the first truly modern total war, using (at least in its later battles) modern weaponry and modern tactics. The key psychological battles were fought in the press. Espionage, sabotage and guerrilla warfare played a vital role in the eventual outcome. The leading players were media heroes and villains throughout and after the war, and (with the obvious and tragic exception of Lincoln) they nearly all wrote lengthy self-congratulatory memoirs in the months and years after the war's conclusion. In consequence, and due also to the quality of federal and state archives, this is the earliest war in which the true history has not been obscured by myth: Every political debate and decision, every troop movement, every significant newspaper article and editorial despatch, most military casualties and even the majority of important spoken conversations were documented and preserved for the long process of research and academic argument that began before the war was even over and has been raging ever since. Thus if you ever had the slightest interest in the past, or the faintest degree of inquisitiveness as to why the world is like it is, the American Civil War is of vital importance. This is true for anyone, let alone the Americans themselves. But with all the thousands of volumes, where do you start? The era has been drilled into in such obsessive detail that someone somewhere has probably written a thousand-page treatise on Kentucky state militia shirt buttons, or located the sites of Robert E. Lee's battlefield latrines through soil spectrum analysis. The Civil War is almost too big to get into; even a relatively concise narration like Selby Foote's runs to three volumes. In consequence, McPherson has done the whole world en enormous service in writing "The Battle Cry of Freedom". In one chunky paperback volume, the author tells the whole story of the war from its roots in the early 19th century through to its immediate aftermath. Every important angle is covered, including the political, economic, social, military, diplomatic and humanitarian perspectives. There are enough facts to satisfy the most demanding reader, but through skilful narrative technique and the copious use of footnotes the author never loses the shape of the story. The personalities of the leading figures such as Lincoln, Davis, Grant, McLellan and so on come through vividly. And for anyone who wishes to focus on some particular issue in greater depth, there are heaps of recommendations for further reading. One of the most appealing facets of this book is the author's willingness to engage with the moral and ethical issues: slavery, taxation, the draft, army foraging, prisoner exchanges and so on. Another star for the warmth with which he deals with human suffering and deprivation (the book's title gives an advance clue to his personal convictions). In short, this is one of the most fascinating books I have ever read - so good I am sorry I have finished it - and it has inspired me to look around for other writings of this quality that will take me further in to this landmark era in history.
Rating:
Summary: Great with Minor Frustrations
Review: You know you have just read a great book when you are angry you have reached the last page. Having missed the significance of "Civil War *ERA*" when I picked this book up, I was at first deeply frustrated over the 250 page wait before Lincoln was elected. At first, that is, because those 250 pages were full of great insights and facts completely unknown to me, including several American attempts to conquer Cuba (in true Bay of Pigs style, no less!), and bloody massacres in Kansas that rival the outrages being committed today throughout the world. McPherson truly hits his stride with the commencement of hostilities. His narrative of the war itself is nearly masterful, covering all of the major campaigns and showing how each campaign affected the moral of both governments and civilian populations. Unfortunately, the book ends as soon as the war does. We are given a great build-up for the Reconstruction, having watched Lincoln's political maneuverings between moderate and radical Republicans, then get shut out in the cold. We come to admire and respect Lincoln, but do not get to experience the shock and grief of his assasination. Allegedly those topics are covered in the "next book in the series," but what that book is (or, for that matter, what the series is) is not revealed in this edition. A brief observation for those who complained about a bias in this book. I, too, noticed McPhersons previous writing credits. Frankly, I appreciated the perspective his previous works gave him. I do not believe the South came out looking any worse than the North in this work. On the contrary, the North did not look good at all. From what McPherson relates, very very few Northerners supported the war (initially) to end slavery; racism was every bit as rampant north of the Ohio as it was in the South - the campaign platforms of the Democratic party in the 1860, 1862, and 1864 were utterly appalling and yet not without success. Those who have complained about a "Northern bias" seem to be doing so because McPherson dares to say that the South fought for slavery. Well, didn't it? As McPherson observed, the only "states rights" issue that truly mattered to people in the 1840s through 60s was slavery. Moreover, McPherson makes the interesting claim that the Northerners were the true "rebels," that the South was fighting to preserve what had been theretofore been the true America.
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